


A Little More of This

by the_deep_miracle_perfection



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: And Berk as a whole, And are endeared by his pure wonder for dragons, And can read him similarly well to Hiccup, And come on, And laugh over his sarcasm, And realizes even more that his own actions were wrong, Astrid and Stoick form a relationship, Astrid loves Toothless, Basically Toothless being adorable 24/7, Basically everything that happens between Toothless saving Hiccup and Hiccup waking up, Because he reminds her of Hiccup, Cute Toothless, Father-Son Relationship, Forming a strained but mutually respectful relationship, Gen, Gobber and Stoick find Hiccup's drawings, Gobber just understands Toothless, Her Gobber and Stoick read Hiccup's journal, How can you not love that adorable dragon?, I've basically summarized the whole thing, Learning about dragons through Toothless, Learning more about the boy he really is, My First Fanfic, Protective Toothless, Stoick learns more of his son's true feelings, Toothless and Stoick bond over their shared affection for Hiccup, Toothless forms a relationship with each Hiccup's friends, and is a key element to the integration of the two species, and not the one they thought they knew, over their shared concern for Hiccup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-16 18:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21041084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_deep_miracle_perfection/pseuds/the_deep_miracle_perfection
Summary: Basically everything that goes down from the time Toothless saves Hiccup to the time Hiccup wakes up. Hiccup's friends and his father learn a lot about him and the kind of person he is through his dragon and his journal. Stoick learns how to be a better father. Astrid falls in love with him a little more. Toothless is Toothless meaning he's adorable and mischievous. Berk has to undergo a lot of changes, and it's hard for everyone to deal with without Hiccup guiding them, but Toothless is there to make things a little easier (and honestly, once you get past the terrifying outer appearance, he's actually very endearing, as the Berkians will soon find out). Basically, a very cute and wholesome fic that explores one of my favorite story ideas to work with.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! This is my first fic ever, so I apologize if there are any formatting issues. I know the movie came out in 2010, and I'm writing this in 2019, but I saw the first movie for the first time a few weeks ago (I haven't seen any of the others yet). Ever since then I've been completely immersed in the fandom! It's a beautiful film with beautiful characters and a heart wrenching soundtrack. I can't believe it's taken me this long to see it! Anyway, I hope you enjoy my simple fic.
> 
> -TDMP

“Thank you,” said Stoick, “for saving my son.”

“Well... most of him.”

Stoick turned to glare at Gobber. Really? Now, of all times? Stoick sighed. He couldn’t exactly blame the man, though. He knew that his friend was just relieved at seeing Hiccup alive. For once, his habit of making a joke out of a stressful situation didn’t aggravate Stoick. Jokes were a good thing. The fact that he could make jokes right now, spoke volumes of the relief he and the whole tribe felt, tragedy so narrowly avoided.

Which brought Stoick’s attention back to the reason he was fortunate enough to be cradling his son. The dragon - Toothless, his son had named him - was still looking up at him, though his eyes were softer and more relaxed. His head rested on the floor, and now that he no longer held Hiccup, the rest of his body began to relax as well. He looked almost as if he could fall asleep.

Bad idea, thought Stoick. He wasn’t sure how much damage the dragon had sustained at the cost of protecting his son. He needed to be sure that the beast would wake up again. He knew, shaking his head at the thought, that Hiccup would be devastated if anything happened to his dragon, his own injuries be damned.

Speaking of injuries… Stoick looked back at the jubilant crowd behind him. Many of them were still in awe of and celebrating Hiccup’s survival. A few of them through, and more would come with each passing moment, were already looking expectantly at their chief, waiting for instruction. He could see that most of them remained unharmed, thank Odin, but a few warriors had sustained awful burns, and he could see a huddle of three men surrounding an unconscious fourth a little ways off. It was time to get everybody off this damn island.

“Gobber.” The man stopped fiddling with the charred remains of Toothless’s saddle and looked at the chief.

“Aye, Stoick,” he said.

“What’s the damage to the boats? Are any of them seaworthy?”

“A few,” said the blacksmith. “But it won’t be enough to take everybody back.”

“Chief!”

Stoick and Gobber jumped at the sudden voice. They looked up and saw one of the kids, Astrid, Stoick remembered, running toward them.

“Chief,” she panted, “We have our dragons. We can take some of the injured back to Berk, and alert the others to send rescue ships.” She looked at the both of them, and then down at Hiccup, and her face paled. 

“Thank you, Astrid” said Stoick quickly, before she could get upset, “Tell your friends to get their dragons and help you.”

“Of course, Chief,” she said, the determination coming back to her. “Snotlout! Fishlegs! Help me get some of these men onto the dragons!” she shouted, running back towards the others. 

“I don’t suppose ya want Hiccup on one of those things do ya, Stoick?” asked Gobber skeptically.

“No,” said Stoick. “No, he can come with the rest of us while we sail back.” There was no way he was letting the boy out of his sight from now until he woke up. Or so he told himself. Once he stood up to finally face the rest of his tribe, he remembered his responsibility as chief. He needed to get Hiccup taken care of, so he could take care of everyone else.

Stoick started to walk towards the boats, when he heard a huff and then a groan come from behind him. He turned to see Toothless, slowly trying to make his way onto his feet. The dragon managed, with great effort, to push himself onto all fours, only to take a step forward and buckle under his own weight. He huffed again, clearly very annoyed. But Stoick didn’t miss the way he softly moaned under heavy pants. He was in more pain than he had first let on. Stoick kept walking, intending to come back for the dragon when he had his son settled, but was alarmed by the forlorn roar that came from behind him. Toothless was practically crawling toward him, his wings dragging on the ground. It was at this point, while observing two green eyes, wide with worry, and trained on Hiccup, Stoick realized that his son’s dragon would stop at nothing to keep from being separated from his rider. Stoick paused for a moment, and continued to observe the beast crawling towards him, before barking the order:

“I need four men to take him to the boat!” Immediately four of the uninjured vikings rushed forward. They stopped a few feet short of Toothless, but then saw that he didn’t object, and lifted him up onto their backs. They carried him to the boats and laid him on the deck of the one with the least fire damage. That one would be ready to go first, carrying the most urgently injured who weren’t already flying back to Berk.

Of the 400 warriors that had left Berk, 18 were burned, 12 had broken bones, and 4 were unconscious. Another 9 had either ringing ears, blurry vision, or dizziness, trauma most likely caused by the force of the Red Death’s massive explosion. All things considered, they were extremely lucky. Over 350 Berkians would be returning unharmed, when not an hour before Stoick had prayed for Odin to grant them any survivors at all.

They loaded their injured onto the boat. Mats and cots were set out for those who could not stand, and the most urgent cases were handled right away. Vikings got about to staunching bleeding wounds and wrapping broken limbs. Others gathered water and their strewn supplies, and still others prepared the sails (or what was left of them) and got the ship ready for the water. Stoick kneeled down and gently laid Hiccup on a mat a little further from the others, so that the boy would not be in anyone’s way or be disturbed by the bustle going on around him. 

Toothless, who up to this point had been lying still at the front of the boat, perked up and slowly started making his way over to his rider. Stoick considered helping him for a moment, but something, maybe the peeved growl that came from the dragon when Stoick moved towards him, told the chief that this was a very prideful animal, and Toothless would not dare accept assistance from a viking twice in one day. Slowly but surely, the dragon made his way over to the sleeping boy. He curled up next to Hiccup, very gently, making sure not to touch his injured leg. Toothless wrapped a wing around him, and delicately placed his head on his human’s chest. Soon his eyes closed, and his head rose and fell with each of the boy’s breaths. All at once, Stoick understood that he was witnessing a sort of intimacy between the two that was completely familiar to them. As if the boy had dozed off with his dragon curled up beside him a hundred times. It was a strange and excluding experience, watching their natural ease with one another, feeling as though he were intruding on a happy family scene when he was in fact looking at his own son.

“They’re quite the pair aren’t they?” chuckled Gobber. “Who woulda thought it, eh? That little Hiccup could have tamed a beast as ferocious and mighty as all that? Although looking at them now, he doesn’t seem so ferocious, does he?” He was smiling, looking down at Stoick. Stoick had to admit there was some truth to his friend’s statements. Looking at them, the dragon snoring contentedly against his son’s frail body, it was hard to imagine the beast as the blood-thirsty monster Stoick had always known Night Furies to be.

“That reminds me,” said Stoick, “Could you check the dragon? Make sure he doesn’t need medical attention along with the others?”

“Aw, Stoick. I didn’t think you cared,” the blacksmith teased, earning a glare from the chief. As Stoick opened him mouth to retort, Gobber cut him off with a wave of his hand. “I know, I know. You’re just making sure, for the boy’s sake. And, yes, actually, I looked him over when the men set him down on the deck. He was the first I looked at, since the others hadn’t gotten on board yet. I’m actually surprised he let me get near him. No broken bones or anything, just a load of scrapes and bruises. Had a nasty fall, they did,” he said shaking his head and shuddering slightly. “By the way,” he continued, “When we get back, I want you to take a look at this saddle and tail fin he’s got on him.” Gobber gestured to the broken leather saddle still on the dragon’s back, still loosely connected to a branch of bare wire Stoick could only assume was the remains of the tail fin he had seen the dragon sporting earlier. No doubt his son’s work.

“What d’ya think is up with that?” Gobber asked. “I didn’t see the others with gear like that on their dragons.”

Stoick had wondered the same thing himself, but couldn’t spend much time on the thought, what with everything that had happened. He shook his head, deciding that he still didn’t have the time for it, and turned back to Gobber.

“Is everything ready?” asked Stoick.

“As ready as it’s going to get” was the reply.

Stoick stood up, made his way over to the bow, and addressed the remaining vikings: “We are taking the injured back to Berk. In a few hours' time, the dragon riders will return with rescue boats to take the rest of you home. Gather any weapons and remaining supplies and prepare for their arrival. Until then, stay close and be alert. The demon in this nest may be gone, but there’s still a whole side to this island unexplored and after the events of today, the last thing we need is another threat. Spitelout is in command until your return.” The broad-shouldered viking stepped forward and gave a salute. Stoick nodded. “We faced the impossible today,” the chief continued. “We stood at Helheim’s Gate and came out all in one piece. If not for the bravery of my son and the other dragon riders, we should not have been so lucky. The time of fighting and war is over. We can now return home, safe in the knowledge that we never need to kill another dragon. The road ahead is strange and new. We as a whole are entering territory that has never been discovered. But as long as I’m your chief, and as long as we’re Vikings, there’s nothing fate could toss at us that we can’t overcome.” 

His people cheered and waved as the boat receded from the shore. It was true. Though it wasn’t easy, they had faced the impossible, and come out the other side. And, rather than on top of dragons as they had originally, nor buried under dragon’s feet as they had feared, the Vikings had emerged victorious beside dragons, proving that a peaceful future was possible.

Yes, Stoick thought, as the island disappeared behind him through the fog. The road ahead was strange and new, but as he looked into the face of his son, the boy that had now given him so much hope, he felt his chest swell with pride, and he knew his earlier sentiment was true. There was nothing they couldn’t stop, together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stoick and Toothless form a greater understanding of one another.

The journey home was quiet and uneventful. Stoick spent almost all of it tensely watching his son. He didn’t stir nor look away when Gobber approached. The other Vikings were well taken care of at that point, so Gobber finally came over to examine Hiccup more closely. Gobber sighed. He had been putting it off, Stoick knew. Despite the gore the men had seen from their years of battle, countless lost limbs, broken bones, and bloody faces, they both knew that caring for this particular patient would be more painful than either of them were prepared for.

However, before they could begin to worry about Hiccup, there was the dragon problem to deal with.

Toothless cracked his eyes open, and looked up at the men. He hadn’t moved from his spot curled up next to his human. His head was still laying contentedly on Hiccup’s chest, and the dragon purred with a satisfaction that said quite clearly he had no intention of moving. Gobber moved closer towards them and reached out his hand. “C’mon now, you lazy beast,” he said, pushing on the dragon’s head. Toothless gave a low growl. Gobber chuckled, sensing that there was no real conviction behind the noise. They both knew he wouldn’t bite. “I need to get a good look at him,” said Gobber patiently. He stopped pushing, but kept his hand firmly placed on the dragon’s snout. Begrudgingly, Toothless lifted his head. He gave an annoyed huff as if to say, Fine! But that’s all you’re getting from me.

Satisfied, Gobber looked down at his apprentice. He had nasty scrapes and bruises on his face, splotches of deep red and purple jarring against his unusually pale skin. They would definitely need some of Gothi’s creams, but there was nothing to be done about them for the time being. He felt Hiccup’s shoulders and arms, pleased to find nothing broken or dislocated. Then Gobber felt his ribs. Nothing broken, but when he pressed into Hiccup’s sides the boy moaned slightly and moved in his sleep. Both the dragon and Stoick made noises of concern, and Gobber found himself reassuring them before continuing. He would have thought it was funny if he wasn’t so worried himself.

He lifted up the boys shirt, and saw bruising beginning to form on his ribs. Blunt force trauma. Gobber guessed that Hiccup must have sustained it with his fall. Or maybe he was hit while in midair? He looked up at the dragon, considering his burnt saddle and destroyed tail fin, slowly putting the pieces together. Yes, he thought to himself. The boy must have been hit by something big while flying. He must have fallen off his saddle, and his dragon caught him, which would explain why he was found wrapped in Toothless’s arms and not on his back. Thank Thor. Gobber let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. If the boy had stayed on his dragon’s back, he likely would have burnt to a crisp.

Gobber continued to check him. Bruises here, a minor burn there. All in all, he wasn’t doing too badly. All he’d really need was cream and some bandages, and the healers had such items in abundance. The only real injury to the boy was… Gobber sighed. It was time. He looked sadly at the Night Fury, who was currently hunched over the limb in question, guarding it from view while being careful not to put any pressure on it. Said Night Fury gave a soft whine and looked just as sadly back at him. Stoick made a motion to get up, intending to help Gobber move the dragon. He didn’t expect Toothless was going to make things easy for them. It wasn’t his fault, he reminded himself. He was just trying to protect the boy. A dragon wouldn’t understand why this needed to be done. But surprisingly, Toothless sat up before Stoick had lifted his bottom off the floor. He moved away and allowed Gobber to get close to Hiccup’s leg. Gobber smiled, gave the black beast an affectionate pat on the nose and went to work. 

Toothless looked up at Stoick then, melancholy green eyes boring into his own. There was an emotion in them that Stoick couldn’t quite place. Fear? Anger? Regret? He found that it was too complicated of a feeling for him to describe. Surprising, that he would be saying that about a supposedly emotionless beast. The eyes continued to stare, making Stoick feel as if the dragon was looking into his very soul. He twisted uncomfortably where he sat. He got the strange sensation that this beast knew more than he let on. That he was looking into the eyes of someone who knew his sins and was judging him for it. A moment that felt like hours, but was really only a few seconds, passed between them. Then all at once Toothless looked away, seemingly satisfied with whatever information he had extracted with his gaze. He moved back to his position at Hiccup’s side and focused on what was happening in front of him. Stoick hadn’t realized that the beast had gotten so close. Or that his eyes had been narrowed to slits while examining him. All at once he remembered the cold hard look on the Night Fury’s face while he had prepared to kill him, hours ago in the kill ring. He wondered if the dragon had ever let Hiccup see that side of him. How could the creature that had been so ready and willing to kill him be the same one that now sat crooning and gently licking his son’s hair? Stoick turned away, aiming to stop his ceaseless thoughts. He would deal with them another day. Right now, his main priority was his son.

Gobber winced. “You’re not gonna like this, Stoick,” he said apologetically. Taking a few calming breaths, Stoick move closer to his son to finally see what the damage was. What he saw almost made him sick. Gobber had cut away the burned pant leg as best as he could to expose the raw flesh underneath. From just below his knee to the bottom of his shoe, Hiccup’s entire lower leg was burnt. His skin was a horrific collage of different textures. Huge blisters and angry red splotches. There were even patches of his leg that had burned away completely, exposing the muscle underneath, charred black bits hanging off the limb in shreds. He looked in horror at Gobber, who looked just as sick as Stoick felt. In his hand he held a bloody rag. “I didn’t dare take off the boot,” he said, gesturing to the shriveled black cloth that covered Hiccup’s foot. “When I tried,” he continued grimacing and swallowing hard, “I felt the foot start to come off with it.” He paused to regain his composure, and Stoick had to force himself not to gag. After a moment, Gobber spoke again, quieter. “He’s going to lose the leg, Stoick,” he said as gently as he could. “There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It’s just a matter of waiting until we get home.” Stoick kept his face hard and neutral, as he always did when he didn’t want to expose the turmoil of emotions beneath his surface. He knew it wasn’t uncommon to lose a limb in battle. Several other Vikings had wooden pegs in place of feet or hooks instead of hands. Just look at Gobber! It’s an occupational hazard, Stoick told himself. It’s a part of life. You just have to accept it and move on. But as he looked at the pale sleeping face of his son, his outer shell began to crumble.

He was almost shaking with the strain of keeping tears at bay. All the guilt, regret and sadness was tearing him apart from the inside. He could have prevented this! He should have listened to his son. His boy wouldn’t be paying the price now if he had been a better father earlier. Now his boy would be a cripple, a permanent reminder of Stoick’s own shortcomings. Lost in his dark thoughts, he felt a nudge against his arm. He looked up into the face of the Night Fury he had forgotten was there. Once again, his green eyes were filled with emotion, but as the dragon softly crooned, Stoick knew what it meant. Sympathy. The same swarm of emotions boiling inside of him were reflected in the eyes of the beast. For one single instant, the dragon and Viking understood each other. Gently, Stoick reached out a hand. Toothless pressed his face against it, closing his eyes. Stoick let out a deep sigh before removing his hand. Toothless moved away. Once again, he laid his head on Hiccup’s chest and wrapped a wing around the boy’s body. Stoick and Gobber stood up, understanding what his actions meant. The check-up was over. He was not moving.

\-----

Halfway to Berk, Stoick heard some of the men gasp. He and the other Vikings looked up to see the dragon riders flying towards them. He could hear the shouts and laughter as the teens bickered with one another. Astrid was in front and landed her great blue Nadder on the deck of the boat while the others hovered above them. Without leaving her spot on her dragon, Astrid addressed Stoick.

“The rescue boats are following close behind us, sir. They should reach the shore a soon after we do. There’s enough of them that we should be able to get everyone back in one trip. We made it safely to Berk with the injured, and the healers got to them as we were leaving. There are a few serious burns, and Helga has a bad concussion, but nothing permanent.” She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “I told Elder Gothi about Hiccup,” she said quieter than before. “She’s preparing the medicine now, and said that she’d be waiting for him.”

She looked down as she said that, eyes avoiding Stoick’s. He could see the worry in her face. He wanted to reassure her that everything would be fine, but then he remembered the ugly deformed leg he had seen. The poor lass. She’d be upset when she found out. But she didn’t need to know anything about it right now. “Thank you, Astrid,” he said nodding at her, “You’ve done more than enough. I’m extremely grateful.” She beamed with pride. “Go tell the others that help is on the way,” he said.

“Oh, and make sure you find your parents before heading back home! Your mother in particular, Snotlout. She was very worried about you,” Gobber shouted up at the teens from where he was sitting. Snotlout groaned from up on his Monstrous Nightmare. “Yeah, that sounds like her,” he said, embarrassed as the twins on the Zippleback next to him began to snicker. 

Astrid’s Nadder spread its wings and crouched like a dragon often does before taking flight. Astrid nodded to Stoick and Gobber. “We’ll see you back on Berk,” she said. Then she was in the air, and her and the other teens headed back towards the island where many tired Vikings were waiting to be brought home.

Stoick sat down next to Gobber and sighed. It had been a long day. And it wasn't nearly over yet. He focused on the gentle rocking of the boat, letting his eyes close. He wouldn't sleep, but he would at least rest for a moment, to gather his strength. He’d need plenty of it when they got back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! Did you like all the Stoick and Toothless interactions there? What about the gore and angst? Well I certainly liked writing it, that's for sure. I'm having a lot of fun with this. Third chapter is already in the works and will hopefully be finished by tomorrow. Let me know how you like the writing, btw. It's my first time writing fic of any kind, and I worry that I can get a bit long-winded. Any feedback is well appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my first fic ever! There'll be more to come soon. I'm not sure how long I want to make this, but I've had this idea for a while and I definitely want to give this story the time it deserves. I want it to be fleshed out and not rushed, so I'm favoring quality over timeliness. Basically if I'm slow between each chapter it's because I want the writing to e good. Thanks for reading so far! It means the world to me.
> 
> -TDMP


End file.
